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Partnership Will Advance Preclinical Research of Vaccine Candidates Against Enteric Bacteria
MISSOULA, MT, USA | August 19, 2008 | EndoBiologics and PATH have formed a new research partnership to investigate novel conjugate vaccine candidates against enteric bacteria that cause dysentery and severe diarrhea. PATH will fund EndoBiologics to complete preclinical research into process development, mucosal immunization, and evaluation of novel antigens for potential protection in animal models.
EndoBiologics will focus on vaccines against Shigella bacteria that cause more than 165 million episodes of severe dysentery and diarrhea and kill more than 600,000 children each year. Since many forms of Shigella mediate disease, the challenge is to produce a vaccine that provides broad-spectrum protection. EndoBiologics believes that the unique composition of its new conjugate vaccine candidates holds special promise in meeting this challenge.
The Shigella vaccines are part of a pipeline of subunit vaccines that EndoBiologics is developing to provide broad protection against diarrhea, fever, and septic symptoms caused by enteric bacteria. In addition to benefiting young children, who are most susceptible to the bacteria and live in areas where they are endemic, the vaccines may also protect tourists and business people who travel in these endemic regions. It is estimated that about 600,000 travelers suffer from dysentery due to Shigella infections each year.
About EndoBiologics
EndoBiologics was founded in 1999 to develop a new platform technology for manufacturing subunit and conjugate vaccines that contain detoxified polysaccharides from bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The new platform uses a highly efficient biological process to enzymatically isolate and detoxify LPS. It is applicable for producing vaccines against virtually any gram-negative bacteria. Because of its efficiency and ease of scalability, the new platform greatly enhances the potential for large scale, cGMP manufacturing of vaccines containing LPS subunits. In addition to its use in producing vaccines against enteric bacteria, the new technology is also applicable to manufacturing subunit vaccines against a broad range of other gram-negative bacteria that cause meningitis, inner ear infections, and respiratory infections.
About PATH
PATH is an international nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. By collaborating with diverse public- and private-sector partners, PATH helps provide appropriate health technologies and vital strategies that change the way people think and act. PATH’s work improves global health and well-being. For more information, please visit www.path.org.
SOURCE: Path |
